---

Capital Receipts

Mr. Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to further regulate the use of capital receipts by Scottish local authorities; and if he will make a statement. [6634]

Mr. Michael Forsyth: Last year, I introduced measures to control the indebtedness of Scottish local authorities through limits on their ability to utilise capital receipts by requiring them to set aside 25 per cent. of those receipts for the redemption of debts.

I have decided that, from 1 April 1997, Scottish local authorities will set aside 50 per cent. of receipts raised from the sale of land and other property held on the general fund and, in the case of housing, 75 per cent. of receipts raised from the sale of housing stock. Scottish Homes will also be required to apply receipts to debt repayment from next year.

So far as the general fund is concerned, these decisions confirm the intention I announced on 28 November 1995. The exceptions to these set-aside rules will remain as in the current year, including an exemption from debt redemption rules when assets are transferred by an authority as part of a private finance initiative project.

Local Government Finance

Mr. Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will announce details of the 1997-98 local government settlement. [6635]

Mr. Michael Forsyth: For the second successive year, I have decided to improve on the plans for the local government settlement. The level of Government supported expenditure has been increased by 2.2 per cent. or nearly £132 million and the level of aggregate external finance by 1.1 per cent. or £60 million, in both cases after adjusting for the phasing-out of local government reorganisation on costs and the transfer of responsibility for funding nursery education.

Next year, Scottish local authorities will receive Government support totalling over £5.4 billion, which represents over 37 per cent. of the total Scottish Office

26 Nov 1996 : Column: 167

budget. As a result of the settlement, Scottish local government will continue to enjoy levels of spending and Government support far in excess of those available in either England or Wales. Spending in Scotland will be 30 per cent. higher per head of population than in England and Government support will be 42 per cent. higher.

In determining the settlement, I have given particular priority to the police and fire services, and have also provided additional resources for education and social work.

I have decided that capping must be retained in order to protect council tax payers, and I am today announcing my provisional capping principles for next year. Council tax payers in the areas concerned will also benefit from the second year of the transitional mismatch and district equalisation schemes. Grant totalling around £18 million will be provided in 1997-98 to fund these schemes and this will be in addition to the aggregate external finance total which I am announcing today.

The details of the settlement are:

Government supported expenditure

I propose that Government supported expenditure--GSE--for 1997-98 should be set at £6,214.3 million. This compares with previous plans of £6,186 million.

Grant aided expenditure

Local authorities will incur an estimated £793.3 million on loan and leasing charges in 1997-98. This is an increase of £15.5 million over this year's figure. These charges continue to increase and I am announcing separately the action I am taking to bring them under greater control. After deducting this sum from the GSE total, £5,421.0 million is available for allocation as grant aided expenditure--GAE. This GAE amount is also 2.2 per cent. or over £116 million higher than that for the current year, after making the above adjustments. I shall announce GAE figures for individual local authorities as soon as possible.

Aggregate external finance

I further propose that Government support for local authority current expenditure--aggregate external finance (AEF) which consists of revenue support grant, specific grants and non-domestic rate income--for 1997-98 should be set at £15,343.2 million, which compares with the previous plans of £5,298 million. Proposals for the distribution of AEF to individual local authorities are likely to be issued to councils before Christmas.

Capping

I have the power to cap a local authority either where I consider that its planned expenditure is excessive or where there is an excessive increase in its planned expenditure as compared with the previous year. My provisional capping principles for 1997-98 are:

any increase in budget between 1996-97 and 1997-98 of more than 0.5 per cent. will be an excessive increase if the resulting budget is above the council's GAE for 1997-98--in the case of Dumfries and Galloway, Fife, Highland, Orkney islands, Scottish Borders, Shetland islands and Western Isles councils--and the council's GAE for 1997-98 adjusted to take account of the second year of the self-financed mismatch scheme, in the case of all other councils;
any budget for 1997-98 more than 12.5 per cent. above the

26 Nov 1996 : Column: 168

council's GAE assessment, as adjusted if necessary, will be excessive save that if that budget is no greater than the budget set by that council for 1996-97, the council will not be capped.

WALES

Teachers

Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of the teaching profession in Wales has taken early retirement in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [4939]

Mr. Jonathan Evans: The information requested is shown in the table:

School teachers taking early retirement as a percentage of school teachers in service(3)

	Percentage of teachers taking early retirement
1990-91	2.3
1991-92	1.8
1992-93	1.8
1993-94	2.0
1994-95	2.0

(3) Includes grant-maintained and independent school staff who are in the teachers' superannuation scheme (TSS), excludes those returning to non-pensionable occasional service.

Pig Carcases (Antibiotic Residues)

Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what tests are required by his Department to be applied in slaughterhouses in Wales to verify the absence of antibiotics in pig carcases; what discussion he has held with the European Commission on this issue; and if he will make a statement. [5360]

Mr. Hague: Under the national surveillance scheme for residues in meat, which implements EC directive 86/469, samples from pigs are collected each year from randomly selected slaughterhouses by the Meat Hygiene Service, and tested for the presence of residues of veterinary medicines including antibiotics. The results show that the incidence of residues found in 1995 was very low. Only 83 samples out of some 16,000 tested from pigs were above the action level. Because of the considerable margins of safety involved, none of these samples was likely to have posed a health risk to consumers.

Discussions on measures intended to harmonise, improve and extend existing controls on surveillance for residues have already been held. Member states have agreed EC directive 96/23, which repeals EC directive 86/489, which among other changes will require a small number of samples from pigs to be taken on farms as well as at slaughterhouses. It is to enter into force in all member states by 1 July 1997.

Disability

Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what extra financial assistance he plans to give to organisations in Wales devoted to assisting and advising those suffering from disability in the financial year 1997-98; and if he will make a statement. [5549]

26 Nov 1996 : Column: 169

Mr. Jonathan Evans: My right hon. Friend will announce his spending plans for 1996-97 in the usual way later this year.

Arable Area Scheme

Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what area of land was set aside in Wales in 1995-96 under the arable area scheme. [5548]

Mr. Jonathan Evans: The area was 4479.18 hectares.

Non-domestic Rates

Sir Wyn Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his proposal for the Welsh non-domestic rate poundage for the next financial year. [6539]

Mr. Hague: I propose that the national non-domestic rate poundage for Wales should rise to 41.4 p to reflect the annual increase in the retail prices index to September 1996.

Local Government Finance

Sir Wyn Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are his proposals for local government revenue spending in 1997-98. [6540]

Mr. Hague: I propose to set local authority and police authority total standard spending in Wales for 1997-98 at £2,931.1 million. This figure includes £169.2 million for care in the community. It represents an increase of £66.3 million, 2.3 per cent. on the comparable level of funding for 1996-97.

I propose to set central Government support for total standard spending at £2,577.7 million.

---